VISIONARY PROGRAMMING INCLUDES FIVE COMMISSIONS AND FEATURES OVER 70 CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS THROUGHOUT SPRING 2019

Nov. 14, 2018

SEATTLE, WA – Today the Seattle Symphony announces the much-anticipated artistic programming for Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center,
a new innovative venue in Benaroya Hall opening in March 2019. An
unprecedented milestone in Seattle Symphony’s history, the inaugural
season of Octave 9 features daring excursions beyond the limits of
convention, representing a bold commitment to the music of today.
Through the nexus of technology, art and design, Octave 9’s versatile,
immersive environment will see five world premieres, over 70
contemporary composers and 70 instrumentalists from the opening in March
through June 2019.

Octave
9: Raisbeck Music Center’s novel first season includes a 24-hour
nonstop Contemporary Music Marathon that features multi-sensory and
interactive performances; creative chamber concerts; intimate
performances alongside illuminating conversations with artists and
composers; insightful lectures; events for families that spark
curiosity; and a new performance venue for the community.

“Octave
9 is groundbreaking,” shared Krishna Thiagarajan, President & CEO
of the Seattle Symphony. “In this space, we will live and breathe
today’s art and support contemporary composers with a dedicated medium
for their work. Arts are the way a society articulates itself, and
Octave 9 signifies the importance of supporting the voices of today.”

Beginning
in March 2019 the Seattle Symphony will invite composers, musicians and
interdisciplinary artists to explore the venue as a creative tool. In
addition to innovative Seattle Symphony projects, Octave 9 will serve as
an artistic incubator, welcoming the community and local artists to
take advantage of the venue’s unique capabilities as a small chamber
music hall or experimental performance environment.

“At
Octave 9, we will create spectacular multisensory performances that
engage and delight many different types of audiences,” added Elena
Dubinets, Seattle Symphony Vice President of Artistic Planning and
Creative Projects. “With an immense variety of music, we can inspire,
challenge, provoke and transform, always in a dialogue with the
communities we serve. In our inaugural season we will have the
opportunity to work with over 70 composers of all backgrounds,
collaborating with them to create and share the music of the future.”

The
launch of Octave 9 coincides with the 20th anniversary of Benaroya
Hall, the Seattle Symphony’s home since 1998. Centrally located in
downtown Seattle across the street from the Seattle Art Museum and
blocks from the Harbor Steps, Pike Place Market, Seattle Theater
District and the new Seattle Waterfront Octave 9 will add a third
performance venue to Benaroya Hall. Designed in collaboration with LMN
Architects as a space unlike any other, it will open new opportunities
for cross-genre collaborations and allow the Symphony to continue to
boldly push boundaries and engage new audiences.

***

SETH PARKER WOODS Cellist
and interdisciplinary artist Seth Parker Woods is Octave 9’s first
Artist in Residence, from March 2019 through the 2019–2020 season.
Parker Woods joined the orchestra in October 2018 for several free
community performances. He will be a featured performer throughout the
opening of this new venue including the March 10 program curated by
Derek Bermel, and in an hour-long self-curated program during the
Contemporary Music Marathon. His marathon performance will include
interactive and electronic works by Ryan Carter, Nathalie Joachim,
George Lewis and Annea Lockwood.

“Given
my background of working with various types of music, multimedia and
electronics, Octave 9 is the perfect playground,” shared Parker Woods.
“Because of this space, I’m really able to dream big and develop
something extremely dynamic. It’s a privilege to be able to usher in a
new concert hall in a way and help configure things for not only my
tenure, but for all artists that will utilize the space.”

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Octave
9 will host performances and discussions that delve into the chamber
music and creative process of contemporary composers. Surrounding the
performance of their works on the mainstage, composers John Harbison,
Heiner Goebbels and Hannah Kendall will each share and discuss their
music and unveil the inspirations that go into their compositions.